Art Park, West Kowloon , 09.03.2019 to 10.03.2019

Join us on 9 and 10 March for the last weekend of this season’s Freespace Happening!

To wrap up in style, our music stage offers a great mix of sounds from round the globe. Indonesian duo Senyawa redefines traditional music with an awe-inspiring mix of growling, wailing vocals and experimental sounds produced on home-made instruments. French avant-garde band Las Aves intrigues with lively electronic pop. Ensemble Mik Nawooj from the US teams up with MC Yan and local musicians for a sensational fusion of hip-hop rap, classical and rap … and much, much more!

The weekend also sees the launch of the long-awaited “Freespace Mixtape Vol. 2” – featuring eight new cross-genre local music collaborations initiated by Freespace Happening – and to help us celebrate, some of the featured artists will be joining us on stage. Continuing the collaboration programme, we also present two new cross-overs, with indie band Modern Children pairing up with the Romer Strings Quartet, and bass trio “Lomantic” creating spine-tingling sounds with CMgroovy@Majestic G, Jacky Man and Chan Siu-kei.

WE Dance also offers sounds from around the globe with dance artist Shilpika Bordoloi from India. Join us for a workshop of indigenous Indian dance and an excerpt of her intense and evocative contemporary performance Majuli.

On our newly opened waterfront promenade, long-time partner ohmykids join us again with new programmes tailored by and for children. If you’re bringing your family, don’t miss the “ohmykids playground” designed by students from the Baptist Rainbow Primary School, and don’t forget to check for bargains at the popular “ohmykids market” operated by our young stallholders themselves!

This month, as well as presenting their regular handicraft market, the team of “a nice place to” joins up with the staff of Arts with the Disabled Association Hong Kong to take you on a blindfold walk – a special chance to experience our beautiful Art Park with your other senses. And, if you’ve taken part in the Freespace Timehub over the past months, it’s now time to revisit your dreams and goals – so don’t forget to head over and collect your wish card!

Animal lovers can join the Hong Kong Dog Rescue for a chance to interact with dogs for adoption, or learn about Hong Kong’s natural soundscapes with Hong Kong Bird Watching Society, who also offer a fun face-painting workshop for our little visitors. If you’re feeling reflective, you can visit The House of Hong Kong Literature for a “Personality Reading” and learn more about your secret self, make yourself comfortable on the lawn with an adopted or borrowed book at the Reading on the Grass book-crossing, or pick up a poetry-inspired charm at the Literature Gachapon capsule vending machine.

Freespace Happening is West Kowloon Cultural District’s regular free outdoor event. Between August 2015 and March 2018, Freespace Happening attracted over 170,000 visitors to West Kowloon.

Want to perform at Freespace Happening or have ideas for collaborations?Fill in this form and send it with the required attachments to freespacehappening@wkcda.hk.

Freespace Mixtape Vol. 1 & 2, a recording featuring the creative results of the cross-genre musical collaborations initiated by Freespace Happening, is available to stream on various online platforms on 9 March. Find out more here. To hear the bands talk about their experience, watch our short video interviews.

“Of Pastures Wild and Wide”, our new publication featuring works by 24 major Hong Kong writers inspired by the plants cultivated at West Kowloon, is now available in major bookstores around town. Produced in collaboration with The House of Hong Kong Literature, “Of Pastures Wild and Wide” is available in Chinese only.

Poem of the Season: Responding to this season’s theme, “Stories of our space”, local poet Law Kwai Cheung penned a special Freespace Happening poem. Click here for the poem, analysis and author’s bio. Available in Chinese only.

And don’t forget, West Kowloon remains open all year round. Head over any time to relax on the grass with friends, family and pets, ride a bike, enjoy a picnic, watch sunsets or just lie back and look at the stars. See opening arrangements

Programme Partners:

Supported by:

WE Dance Collaborating Partner:

Date

09.03.2019 to 10.03.2019

Venue

Art Park, West Kowloon

Part of

Taking “Stories of our space” as our theme, this season of Freespace Happening offers activities designed to inspire fresh perspectives on our connections with the city’s vibrant mix of communities, its natural environment and its diverse plant and wildlife. Join us and help us shape a rich and stimulating space